"That is how one builds peace, saying 'no' to hatred and violence—with action—and 'yes' to fraternity and reconciliation," Pope Francis said on Jan. 1.
The imbalance in the world, one Jesuit expert has said, reflects how years of papal pleas and Vatican mandates have not been received or implemented consistently everywhere.
In a world marked by violence, "the choice of nonviolence as a style of life is increasingly demanded in the exercise of responsibility at every level," the pope said.